BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – IT was evident when 14-year-old Karence De Costa competed in the second annual Kittitian Superstar that not only she would have won the competition, but she was also destined for stardom.
De Costa’s life was however snuffed out after her involvement in a car accident as she was driving home sometime around 2:15 a.m. on Monday, June 8 on the island of St. Thomas.
It was just a few hours before the accident that she graduated from the Charlotte Amalie High School (CAHS) and went out with friends to celebrate her success.
Originally from St. Kitts where she grew up with her grandmother Christine Joseph at Trafalgar Villlage, De Costa made everyone fall in love with her when they first heard her sing.
In 2005, she entered the Kittitian Superstar competition, founded by radio personality St. Clair ‘Chico’ Guishard, and walked away the winner.
Guishard said he remembers first hearing De Costa sing at an event he hosted prior to the annual Kittitian Superstar.
“She was just playing around, singing two Mariah Carey songs, and her friends were at the front cheering her on and going crazy and she didn’t even finish the song because she started laughing,” he said.
Guishard said he told her that she had so much talent and she was not aware of it, and that he had a competition he would have liked her to enter later that year.
A true star
Guishard said that many persons told to him that De Costa was the most talented Kittitian Superstar overall.
“Each time she sang during the competition, I hardly gave her any critique. It was hard to find any critiques…I had to give her all great reviews,” he said.
When it came down to the final four contestants, Guishard recalled that they did a promotion for the Semi-finals and one of the judges, Pamela Wall, mentioned to him after the Semi-finals that she did not know De Costa was such a great singer.
Wall told him that she was more impressed with another singer after seeing the promotion but during the Semi-finals De Costa stole the show.
Guishard said it was just last Friday (June 6) that he and a gentleman were speaking about the competition when the man told him he felt De Costa was the most talented singer the show has ever had.
“He said she was going to be a superstar and that he wanted his daughter, who also sings, to be just like her. And I told him, ‘yes, she is headed to stardom…she’s like a young Whitney Houston’,” he said.
Guishard said after De Costa won the competition, he stayed in touch with her and was regularly updated on the happenings in her life.
“She was like a little sister to me. I have a daughter and she was a great role model for her. She was just an angel!” he said.
A heart heavy with sadness
Guishard said that he received a call sometime after 6:00 a.m. on Monday from his co-worker at ZIZ Radio, Jasmine Clarke, who told him that she had heard something about De Costa and asked him if he had heard anything.
“I said no! Then I started making calls to find out what was going on,” he said.
A few hours earlier, Guishard said he had received a text message from De Costa’s mom Karel, which read, “Its official Karence is now a high school graduate…”
He said after hearing that De Costa had lost her life, sometime after it was confirmed by her mother when he received a call stating that she had died in a single-car accident.
“That was one of the hardest things I had to deal with,” he said. “People then started calling me and crying, sending text messages and I just cried…I cried on the inside and outside.”
Guishard said that with a heart heavy with sadness, he planned to dedicate the first segment of the Off The Hook show, which he hosts on ZIZ Radio, in De Costa’s memory on Monday but ended up dedicating the entire show as a tribute to her.
“Many persons called in to the show and said they cried like a baby when they heard the news. They didn’t know her, but from knowing her voice and being on the show, she was really special.
“I’m gonna miss that girl. I still can’t believe she is gone. She had a beautiful smile, and she was so humble with her talent and was always warm and welcoming,” he said.
Guishard said that when De Costa won the Kittitian Superstar competition, she was awarded two tickets from American Airlines and chose to travel to St. Thomas to visit her mother.
Her father, Terrence De Costa, resides in St. Kitts.
Beauty Queen at only 17
Just before De Costa turned 18, she achieved another milestone in her life by capturing the Miss Virgin Islands Carnival Queen Pageant.
The reports said that De Costa’s performance in the Talent segment of the show was “the one many felt was the most memorable moment of the night”.
“Clad in a quadrille skirt that she stripped away to reveal a star-spangled red, white and blue dress, she sang tribute to the election of the new US President. Sounding like someone destined for a recording contract, the young woman’s voice boomed through the stadium, electrifying the crowd,” wrote the Virgin Islands Daily Newspaper.
De Costa also won five of the seven judged segments of the show which was held on Saturday April, 18 at the Lionel Roberts Stadium in St. Thomas.
“She wasn’t even into queen shows,” Guishard said. “She was into so many things that never affected her performance in school.”
“She was one in a million and she was also one out of a million, because there are so many talented youths out there but they need a chance to shine,” he said.
Only God may know why
After graduation, it was reported that De Costa planned to attend the North Carolina A&T State University.
According to the Virgin Islands Police Department press release, the car De Costa was driving hit the wall and railing near the Edward Wilmoth Blyden Marine Terminal before striking the concrete base of a light pole, coming into rest near the seaplane shuttle.
VIPDs Traffic Bureau is investigating the incident.
Governor of the Virgin Islands, John P. deJongh has extended condolences to family, friends, and classmates of the 2009 Miss VI Carnival Queen.
“The tragic and most unfortunate death of Karence De Costa has saddened our entire community. The celebration of the CAHS Class of 2009 on their graduation night has clearly been tinged by this tragedy,” deJongh said, noting that during this most difficult time, “everyone must embrace her parents and her extended family and offer our support”.
The Governor met privately with Karence De Costa’s relatives at the Schneider Regional Medical Center in the aftermath of the accident and later attended and participated in an assembly of students, faculty and staff at the Charlotte Amalie High School.
“Our loss is deepened by the fact that the full potential of Karence’s life will never be witnessed. She was an excellent student, a member of the National Honor Society and a part of the CAHS marching band. In life, we accept that there is a power mightier than all of us who charts our destiny, and so today we must believe that what has happened is the will of the Father,” deJongh added.
He also stated in the release that he was quite impressed with the talent De Costa displayed on the night of the Queen Talent and Selection Show and saw her confidence on display when she provided television coverage of the Carnival Children’s Parade last month.
“It was just last night that we were in awe as she heartily sang at her high school graduation. Her renditions of the National Anthem, Black Butterfly and Ave Maria clearly indicated that music was her passion and she wanted to share her music and singing with everyone she met.”
“I pray that the Almighty grants strength to all who suffer the loss of Karence De Costa. May the many warm memories of Karence be a source of comfort during this most difficult period of bereavement,” he said.
Police Commissioner-designee of the VIPD, Novelle Francis Jr. expressed condolences to De Costa’s friends, family and supporters and described her death as a tragedy.
“The entire VI community has lost one of their best and brightest shining stars," he said. "It is a tragedy that the potential of this talented and intelligent young lady will never be fulfilled."
“A lawyer called me and he put it best,” said Guishard. “He said that God needed her more up there than we did down here; he needed his ‘Singing Angel’ back.”
Gifted singer, writer and friend
De Costa is remembered by her graduating classmates most as a gifted singer and writer who was well on her way to accomplishing great things.
Sherea Delsol CAHS’ senior class president, who sat next to De Costa during the graduation ceremony, told the St. Thomas Source online that De Costa sang her way into their hearts.
She recalled a kindness De Costa showed to her during graduation when she had a cold and announced during the ceremony and among her peers that she needed a napkin.
“I just put it out there, just said the words out loud,” she told the newspaper.
The newspaper stated that De Costa acted quickly by pulling a stranger over at some point during the ceremony.
“She asked the woman if she had a napkin for me," Delsol said. “I couldn't believe it. But that's just the kind of person Karence was.”
Delsol said De Costa had so much potential.
“And that smile. All you had to do was look at Karence and it would brighten your day."
De Costa graduated on Sunday (June 7) among 257 students from CAHS, where, before the ceremony ended, a past student who graduated 75 years ago from the school told them that they should make good use of what they were taught and make a difference.
